One of the compulsory subjects studied when pursuing an education in fashion design is the history of fashion styles throughout history. Most students studying this subject not only find the topic extremely interesting, but the lessons learned and the style studied have provided inspiration for many of the latest trends in fashion.
Many of these fashion trends pass through a fashion cycle that once off the catwalks of the great fashion shows of the world, proceed to dress the actors appearing on reality TV shows and those making live appearances on talk shows and at red carpet events. They are then picked up by the fans of the stars eager to dress like their heroes. Each fashion trend lasts one to two seasons and as one trend ends so the new one begins.
Sometimes these trends are revisited from previous years, such as the recent interest in the plat form shoes first popularized in the 1930’s and 40’s and extremely popular in the 1960’-1980’s. These shoes and other popular wedge style shoes made their reappearance on the catwalks and live shows, particularly in the USA and the UK and these have restored some of their former popularity.
Technology often assists designers to create new fashion styles and sometimes use existing and older fashion styles to complement and inspire these new styles. Adapting other inspirations from the natural environment, the styles created may not resemble their original look in any form. The success of the designer is in knowing when the market is ripe for the re introduction of recognizable older styles and when they need to be re-invented in a different form.